Moskowitz eyes potential run for Florida governor

Add a new name to the list of possible 2026 Florida gubernatorial hopefuls: Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz.

The former Director of Emergency Management under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and now freshman in Congress confirmed to POLITICO that he is looking at a potential run for governor in two years.

“I’m not ruling it out,” Moskowitz said at the Capitol Tuesday. “I’m looking at it but it’s super early.”

With DeSantis termed out, the Florida governor’s race will be one of the most-watched gubernatorial races in 2026. Already, a handful of Republicans have either indicated they’re interested in the contest or are being actively talked about, including GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz (who has said he’s not interested) and Byron Donalds as well as Florida Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody. Some speculate that first lady Casey DeSantis would be a strong candidate after a recent poll shows support for a bid from her.

On the Democratic side, state Sen. Shevrin Jones and Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell have both said they’re “strongly considering” mounting a run in 2026.

Any Democrat would have a tough race in Florida, where Republicans hold a huge voter registration advantage as well as supermajorities in both the state House and Senate. The last Democratic governor in Florida was Buddy MacKay, who served for under a month after Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles unexpectedly died in 1998.

Among Democrats in the Florida delegation, Moskowitz said there is a lot of chatter around finding a candidate “who could win a state where there are now more registered Republicans than Democrats.”

“What Democrat can win that?” Moskowitz said. “Maybe a Democrat who worked for a Republican can win that.”